Less than one week after the Conservatives lost another MP to the Liberals, Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre won’t explicitly rule out whether more of his caucus members will cross the floor. “I think Canadians have a reasonable expectation that when you run on a platform to bring down the cost of living, to control spending, to lock up criminals, that...
A federal minister dropped hints about more floor crossings Monday following the defection of Ontario MP Michael Ma to the Liberals last week. When asked whether more opposition MPs are getting ready to cross the floor to join the government, Energy Minister Tim Hodgson said people have reached out. "Let's say I'm getting lots of inquiries," Hodgson told a Toronto...
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre says Prime Minister Mark Carney's government is practising "counterfeit Conservatism." Poilievre says while Carney likes to copy his ideas -- ending the consumer carbon price, for example -- his government won't do what it says it will. Carney is widely seen to be moving the Liberals to the political centre after years of more centre-left policies...
A new national security strategy by United States President Donald Trump’s Republican administration threatens to make Canada “a vassal state” and “needs to be put on the reading list” of every MP, says Lloyd Axworthy, who served as foreign affairs minister in then-prime minister Jean Chrétien’s Liberal government from 1996 to 2000. According to the 33-page document, released on Dec...
President Donald Trump faced blowback from fellow Republicans Monday after he baselessly suggested that legendary director and actor Rob Reiner died because of Reiner’s anti-Trump views, injecting politics into the killing at a time when other conservatives expressed condolences. Reiner, Trump wrote on Truth Social, was killed “due to the anger he caused others through his massive, unyielding, and incurable...
Although Canadian consumer confidence continues to be in negative territory, the trend is marginally improving over time largely driven by more positive views in the forward-looking Expectations Sub-indice.
I noticed a really interesting question asked recently by POLITICO in the United States about the cost of living. It cut through the noise by asking people something very simple: does the cost of living today feel worse than ever, merely bad, or not bad at all? Given how central affordability has been to politics in Canada, I decided to...
Prime Minister Mark Carney is on the verge of recruiting his way to the majority government that evaded him back in April. Now that both Chris d’Entremont and Michael Ma have crossed the floor to join the Liberal caucus, all Prime Minister Carney needs is for one more MP to do the same. And if statements Monday by Energy Minister...
Fun week. A couple more defections by Conservatives you never knew existed, plus a New Democrat in the Speaker’s chair, plus Elizabeth May talking herself into whatever she’ll talk herself into next — well, that’s a half-Fizzbin already. Some Conservatives are worried all these floor-crossings insult democracy. Wajid Khan and David Emerson could not be reached for comment. I’d offer...
Natural Resource Minister Tim Hodgson says he'll launch a task force early in the new year to look at ways to ensure the long-term health of the softwood lumber industry. Speaking in Toronto, Hodgson says the group will bring recommendations forward within 90 days of its launch on how to increase productivity, reach new markets and expand the use of...
Interim NDP Leader Don Davies says his party is open to taking on the Speaker of the House position in exchange for resources, but insists the scenario is “hypothetical” and no such discussion has taken place with the Liberals. “I think you have to be fluid. You have to be open. We haven’t had that proposal put to us, so...
Across Ontario, too many people are making impossible medical choices. Ontarians are splitting pills, skipping doses, or going without heat or food to afford life-saving medication. It is a quiet crisis that exposes a glaring gap in our universal health care system: prescription drugs are still not universally covered. Convened by Canadian Doctors for Medicare, we’ve joined a multi-party group...
It’s a grand bargain that feels like a fire sale. That at least is how some have characterized the Memorandum of Understanding on energy that was signed late last month by Prime Minister Mark Carney and Alberta Premier Danielle Smith.
POLL ANALYSTS will caution that “we need more data” when debating whether freshly released numbers herald genuine trends or whether we are simply reacting to statistical noise. Don’t get me wrong: overreacting to blips is a wonderful (and lucrative) click generator in this dopamine-craving age of social media. But it rarely provides analysis that genuinely informs voters.
Losing one MP to the Liberals may be regarded as a misfortune. Losing two smacks of carelessness. Now Pierre Poilievre’s Conservative leadership is really in danger. Even a victory in the upcoming leadership review in January won’t necessarily make it safe. Now, Mr. Poilievre will be looking over his shoulder and into the shadows. Maybe one more of his MPs...
The new national-security strategy issued by the Trump administration has caused shock waves among the United States’ allies. It contains a retreat by the United States from global leadership and an abandonment of any principled foreign policy. It fails to address threats posed by authoritarian regimes and castigates Europe as a continent in decline, which needs U.S.-style political change. It...
The Prime Minister’s Office is taking a decidedly corporate approach. Then it should make sure that the essential piece of corporate governance is included by being transparent with the board of directors. In this country, the board is made up of voters.
Markham—Unionville MP Michael Ma goes to all the best parties. On Wednesday, he attended the Conservative party’s holiday gathering in Ottawa, even lining up for a photo with Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre and his wife, Anaida.
Let’s start with a few assumptions. U.S. President Donald Trump has reached his political ceiling.
In the last federal election, the Liberals pledged to better protect children online from sexual exploitation. They also promised a suite of measures aimed at cracking down on sexual and intimate partner violence, including making murder motivated by hate like femicide a first-degree offence. Bill C-16, the Protecting Victims Act, introduced earlier this week is a direct result of the...
The Liberal government has cribbed from the Conservative playbook as opponents on the left and right have faltered. But in 2026 they may face new challenges – including a renewed opposition
In response to the federal government’s memorandum of understanding with the Government of Alberta on a new oil pipeline, prominent Quebec Liberal member of Parliament and longtime climate activist Steven Guibeault resigned from cabinet, declaring the agreement a “fire sale.”
In Quebec, certain words don’t land softly. Corruption is one of them. It’s a word that once even earned Quebec the cover of Maclean’s magazine as “the most corrupt province in Canada,” a headline that infuriated the political class precisely because it cut so close to a long, uncomfortable narrative. So, when that word is once again associated with the...
Pierre Trudeau famously said that opposition MPs are nobodies 50 yards from Parliament Hill – and today it’s a handful of Conservative nobodies who are laying the foundation for another Liberal dynasty in Ottawa.
History is not made by great men and women acting alone, writes Mark Carney in his book “Value(s).” Leaders who accomplish big things know how to “engage, explain and emote.” Government has become too short-sighted and transactional, Carney argues. Writing in the throes of the COVID-19 pandemic, he calls on leaders to leverage crises to make big changes.
To illustrate the incredible upheaval that federal politics in Canada has experienced over the last 12 months, one could do worse than to simply look at the last two Liberal caucus holiday parties. A year ago, the Liberal caucus — then numbering 152 members — gathered just a day after Chrystia Freeland's stunning resignation from cabinet. Justin Trudeau tried to...
As government House leader Steven MacKinnon says there are 'other' disgruntled MPs in the Conservative caucus, the Power & Politics panel of party insiders discusses what Michael Ma's decision to cross the floor to the Liberals could mean for Pierre Poilievre's prospects ahead of a leadership review at the end of January.
Just a few short weeks ago, I was sitting in the United Nations listening to statements from the Trump administration emphasizing that the United States would never agree to anything that limited state sovereignty. This assertion — echoing the recent use of sovereignty as a fig leaf by autocratic states to justify a multitude of sins against international law and...
In the late 1990s, a Toronto man named Mark Harding was busily spreading his “gospel” around the city. His proselytizing took the form of printed pamphlets and telephone messages, which warned that Muslims in Canada are “like raging wolves in sheep’s clothing,” and “full of hate, violence, and murder.” Mr. Harding’s materials suggested that all Canadian Muslims are actually terrorists...
The transition Canada is undergoing—including the reshaping of “the rules-based international order and the trading system that powered Canada’s prosperity for decades”—is “a true generational shift,” he said. And it was in this spirit, he told the members of Parliament in the House, that he presented this year’s budget, the first from the Mark Carney Liberal government. Champagne then quoted...
STEVEN GUILBEAULT WAS on Tout le monde en parle on November 30, downing a shot at the end for comic relief after catching his throat as he struggled to explain what it feels like to quit a cabinet job over Prime Minister Mark Carney’s energy deal with Alberta. I think he gave a good account of himself. Not for the...
Bill C-15, “An Act to implement certain provisions of the budget,” is 634 pages long. It creates four new Acts, repeals six more, and amends at least 45 others, on matters ranging from stablecoins to broadcasting to the marketing of freshwater fish. It is, in short, an omnibus bill, the sort with which we have grown all too familiar in...
I want the pipeline to the West Coast to succeed. And I want the federal Conservatives to knock off the Liberal government. So why do I agree with the Liberals that Tuesday’s opposition motion in the Commons to get MPs to show support for the pipeline was a “cheap political stunt” and “immature?”
It is a rare thing to have one’s mind changed by a politician. In the words of the late prime minister Pierre Trudeau, MPs are “nobodies…like pawns in a chess game.” And yet, as I prepared to write a column questioning the Conservative opposition to C-9, the legislation designed to combat hate crimes and intimidation, I reconsidered my position after...
Earlier this week, Party Québécois (PQ) leader Paul St-Pierre Plamondon told Quebec journalists that they were not doing a good job at covering and exposing what he depicts as the anti-Quebec policies of the federal government, which he dismissively calls “the federal regime,” as if it was some sort of dark foreign entity. This tirade against a key component of...
This was a heavy year for liberal democracy, as the second Trump presidency in the United States began actively dismantling democratic institutions in that country. If 2024 was the year of creeping authoritarianism, 2025 saw it in full bloom. Across the border in Canada, there has been a false sense of security with the rise of Mark Carney to the...
The leak came as Prime Minister Mark Carney considers whether to purchase the Gripen or F-35. The defence department has launched an investigation into the leak of a document now being used to undercut the government’s consideration of an alternative to the American-made F-35. The leak of the four-year old document came in the midst of the ongoing process in...
Trip comes at a time of heightened tensions between Canada and Israel. A group of five Liberal MPs and a lone NDP parliamentarian are planning to spend three days in Israel and the occupied West Bank, at a time of heightened tensions between Ottawa and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government. “I think being present helps; it does calm the...
British Columbia legislator Dallas Brodie, whose OneBC party has removed her as leader, said the split happened after colleagues tried to stop her from firing a caucus staffer whose views on Jewish people were "disgusting" and antisemitic. Brodie said she wanted the man removed because she is not a "neo-Nazi," and it was "obscene" to think that the young man's...
Canadian politicians and community groups shared messages of support after a mass shooting left at least 15 people dead at a Hanukkah celebration in Australia. Prime Minister Mark Carney, in a statement Sunday, said Canadians stand with Jewish people in Australia and across the world in light of the horrific attack. "Hanukkah is a time of light amidst the darkness...
More than a year after its rollout, an online portal for collecting taxes on goods transported into Canada continues to cause headaches for shippers -- from red tape tangles to periodic outages -- with potential ripple effects for consumers, all amid a costly trade war with the United States. The federal government's $706-million digital platform for paying duties came online...
The son of filmmaker Rob Reiner was arrested on homicide charges after the actor-director and his wife were found dead in their Los Angeles home, a police official said on Monday. Nick Reiner, 32, is being held on $4 million US bail for murder, said Jim McDonnell, police chief for the Los Angeles Police Department. People magazine was the first...
Canada-U.S. Trade Minister Dominic LeBlanc says the door is open for American officials to restart trade talks with Canada, but the next time for direct engagement on trade will likely be when the North American free trade agreement begins its review process next month. "If ever in those conversations there's an opportunity for the Americans to agree to something that...
OTTAWA -- Promoters of Canadian English say the federal government is sending the wrong message to the world with its recent use of British spelling in official documents.
Liberals 1 seat away from majority after Markham-Unionville MP crossed floor. Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre says his party's focus on affordability "is what unites all Conservatives," as the Tories grapple with another MP crossing the floor to join the Liberals — bringing them one seat shy of forming a majority government. "Affordability, affordability, affordability. Canadians cannot afford grocery prices because...
Two gunmen opened fire during a Hanukkah celebration on Sydney’s Bondi beach, killing 15 people, including a child, officials said Monday, in what Prime Minister Anthony Albanese called an act of antisemitic terrorism that struck at the heart of the nation. The shooters were father and son, authorities said. The massacre at one of Australia’s most popular beaches followed a...
CALGARY -- The prospect of building a new bitumen pipeline to the West Coast has garnered most of the attention since Ottawa and Alberta announced their sweeping energy accord late last month, but another item has left environmentalists dismayed and energy industry players pleasantly surprised.
Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission ordered Best Theratronics to comply over a year ago. A storied Kanata medical manufacturer is in the process of relinquishing its nuclear licence, more than a year after Canada's nuclear regulator placed it under orders for violating the terms of that certificate. On Friday, the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission (CNSC) confirmed that Best Theratronics is in...
Premier Danielle Smith is among 22 members of Alberta's legislature facing a recall petition from constituents. It's not so easy to remove a politician from office between elections in Canada. That's due, in part, to the fact there are few jurisdictions in the country where laws to recall an elected representative are in place. And even where recalls are an...
For the third time in a month a Conservative jumps ship, with two of them joining the Liberals. Will there be more? The Liberals need at least one more to form a majority. All this is happening while the government struggles to pass new legislation. Ottawa starts to close down for the holidays and Good Talk assesses where things stand...
Alberta separatist leaders expect to start canvassing in January to get their independence referendum question on the ballot, thanks to the provincial government’s latest legislation to make it easier for them to succeed. Were it not for the United Conservatives’ speedy passage of Bill 14 this week, the Alberta Prosperity Project’s citizens initiative would have been in peril, thanks to...
Trade observers say trade shocks brought on by U.S. President Donald Trump and recent pacts struck by India with other nations have re-awakened hopes for a deal between Ottawa and New Delhi.
Microsoft vice-chair and president Brad Smith insists his company can protect digital sovereignty in Canada, regardless of who is leading the U.S. government. This week, Microsoft announced it will invest $7.5 billion in Canada over the next two years as part of a data-centre expansion, bringing its total investment in this country to $19 billion between 2023 and 2027. But...
U.S. panel voted to remove universal hepatitis B vaccine recommendations for infants. Health Minister Marjorie Michel says she worries about how recent actions by U.S. public health agencies, like removing a universal hepatitis B vaccine recommendation for American infants, could hurt Canadians’ health. "It’s a big worry for me," Michel said in an interview on CBC’s The House that airs...
Conservative MP Jamil Jivani might have the most personal reason to have a blue Christmas after Michael Ma's surprise defection to the Liberals on Thursday: he was left without a Secret Santa gift. Ma was apparently Jivani's Secret Santa for the Conservative caucus gift exchange. But it appears the Ontario MP isn't letting the incident ruin his holiday spirit and...
If there’s one person who won’t be receiving any Conservative MP Christmas cards, it’s Markham–Unionville MP Michael Ma. Article content In fact, if anything, Conservatives want the floor-crossing new Liberal MP to return a Christmas gift he already received.
The deal to have Conservative MP Michael Ma cross the floor to become a Liberal MP was brokered by Natural Resources Minister Tim Hodgson.
“The timing (of Ma’s decision) was catastrophically bad for Conservatives, because you can’t bring everyone in and (say), rah, rah, everything is OK,” said one senior Conservative source, granted anonymity to discuss internal party politics. The source predicted that Carney will have a majority by spring 2026 “one way or another,” meaning they expect at least one more Conservative MP...
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre says Prime Minister Mark Carney needs to stop trying to manipulate his way to the majority government Canadians denied him in the spring election by courting floor-crossers. On Thursday, Ontario MP Michael Ma became the second person to leave the Conservative benches and join the Liberals in as many months, following Nova Scotia MP Chris d'Entremont...
Canadian financier Mark Wiseman has officially been selected by Prime Minister Mark Carney to take up Canada’s most important diplomatic role as ambassador to the United States as the country prepares for tough USMCA trade talks, two sources say. The appointment was approved by cabinet on Thursday, the sources said. The Prime Minister is to make the announcement in the...
Former four-term MP Rahim Jaffer says he’s thinking about running for the Edmonton area seat currently held by departing Conservative Matt Jeneroux. Jaffer told National Post that he saw the stars aligning for a possible comeback when Jeneroux announced last month he’d be resigning from Parliament, noting the news eerily dovetailed with a development in his personal life.
After the Liberals convinced another Conservative MP to cross the floor, Government House leader Steven MacKinnon says there are more Conservative members who are “extremely frustrated” with the leadership of the party. “All of my colleagues here have the same experience of speaking to Conservative members, unfortunately a group which is in the minority in their group, who are extremely...
The federal government announced Friday that it's buying six new Global 6500 jets from Bombardier to replace its existing fleet of four CC-144 Challengers. A government statement said the $753-million contract includes production, training for aircrew, maintenance personnel and any military modifications that will be required. The jets will be built and maintained in Canada, where the government said it...
Government House leader Steven MacKinnon said Friday there are other MPs in the Conservative caucus who are "extremely frustrated" with the political direction being taken by their party. Questioned by reporters the morning after MP Michael Ma left the Conservatives to join the Liberal caucus, MacKinnon said a handful of Conservatives have shared their frustrations with Liberals privately. Several Conservatives...
From Stampede sit-down to key Grey Cup call: The inside story of how two governments came to an agreement on pipelines, carbon capture, emissions reduction and more The stark white room looked like an ultra-clean kitchen. Article content On one side of a long table, inside a conference room overlooking the South Saskatchewan River, sat Alberta’s premier and two senior...
Prime Minister Mark Carney touted his “big, broad, and growing Liberal tent” on Thursday night, buoyed by another MP jumping ship from Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre’s caucus to join his, a year after the party appeared to be in dire straits. “Some of you – and I salute you – have been Liberals your whole life. Some of you apparently...
When Indiana adopted new U.S. House districts four years ago, Republican legislative leaders lauded them as "fair maps" that reflected the state's communities.
ATLANTA (AP) -- Even though Republican Brian Jack is only a first-term congressman, he has become a regular in the Oval Office these days. As the top recruiter for his party's House campaign team, the Georgia native is often reviewing polling and biographies of potential candidates with President Donald Trump.
ALLENTOWN, Pa. (AP) -- Many political candidates like to talk up their resume in their stump speech.
WASHINGTON (AP) -- President Donald Trump successfully harnessed voter anxiety over the economy, immigration and crime last year to retake the White House -- and lift plenty of other Republicans into office with him. But as the party tries to keep its grip on complete control in Washington, that strategy may be harder to replicate.
The son of filmmaker Rob Reiner was arrested on homicide charges after the actor-director and his wife were found dead in their Los Angeles home, a police official said on Monday. Nick Reiner, 32, is being held on $4 million US bail for murder, said Jim McDonnell, police chief for the Los Angeles Police Department. People magazine was the first...
Two gunmen opened fire during a Hanukkah celebration on Sydney’s Bondi beach, killing 15 people, including a child, officials said Monday, in what Prime Minister Anthony Albanese called an act of antisemitic terrorism that struck at the heart of the nation. The shooters were father and son, authorities said. The massacre at one of Australia’s most popular beaches followed a...
The federal government says it is keeping a close eye on lethal strikes by American forces on suspected drug boats in the Caribbean, while continuing with operations in the region. Canada has conducted Operation Caribbe — an anti-drug trafficking mission in partnership with the United States Coast Guard — since 2006. The Department of National Defence says that mission has...
Prime Minister Mark Carney is set to meet with U.S. President Donald Trump and Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum in Washington Friday as the future of the continental trade agreement hangs in the balance. The 2026 World Cup draw will mark the first time all three leaders have gathered in person. It comes ahead of next year's mandatory review of the...
The European Union says Canada will need to pay 10 million euros to join a defence procurement agreement with the continent -- a price tag that is raising questions about how much investment the pact will generate. Canada this week officially joined the 150-billion euro program called Security Action for Europe, or SAFE, which is part of the ReArm Europe...
The year 2025 was a year of volatility, experimentation, and recalibration across Asia and Canada. Much of the volatility stemmed from U.S. President Donald Trump’s sweeping tariff agenda, which upended global trade norms and injected new uncertainty into supply chains. China, meanwhile, pressed ahead with an increasingly assertive industrial strategy, even as it contended with slower domestic growth and structural...
Even modest Canadian engagement with China may be judged less on its merits than on how it is interpreted in the U.S. within a framework designed to ‘wind down adversarial outside influence.’
On November 4th, Budget 2025 shifted the Carney government’s policy priorities to economic growth and national defence in response to a rupture in Canada-US trade relations and new NATO commitments. Public finance with a focus on capital investment is the principal instrument of change. In line with this strategy, a closer look at Canada’s sagging productivity suggests the next budget...
A collection of SubStack publishing within Canadian public affairs.
Stephen Thorne has died. The bitter, unexpected death of a tough journalist who wrote about death but couldn’t report on his own. He’d have written a damn fine story about it. I was his boss for years, in Halifax and Ottawa, though Stephen had no time for bosses. He followed his nose for stories whether or not anybody asked for...
The Canadian government has avoided commenting on the United States’ controversial targeting of alleged drug-trafficking vessels in Caribbean waters.
I went back to Ottawa this week. It’s been a while since I’ve been in the nation’s capital to talk about peace issues, so when the Senate of Canada contacted me, I had to go. Prime Minister Carney’s Budget 2025 is making its way through Parliament, and the Senate’s Committee on National Security, Defence and Veterans Affairs asked me and...
Katie Telford, former Chief of Staff to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, reflects on her extensive political career, the evolution of Canadian politics, and the challenges faced during her time as Chief of Staff to the Prime Minister.
Greetings, you curiouser and curiouser Herle Burly-ites! We’ve got a special 2-part episode lined up for you today… a Canada-Alberta Pipeline MOU Double-Pod Double-Panel Policy & Politics Extravaganza!
'Twas the evening before the Liberal holiday party, when all through the House… Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse. And then, a Christmas surprise that sent the Conservatives awry: Markham—Unionville MP Michael Ma announced he was crossing the floor to join Prime Minister Mark Carney. His move brings the Liberal government within one seat of a majority...
In this episode of "It's Political," the Toronto Star's Ottawa bureau reporter Ryan Tumilty and deputy bureau chief Alex Ballingall join host Althia to discuss the year in Canadian politics and what to look ahead to in 2026. What to make of Prime Minister Mark Carney's first year in office and how long can his minority government survive?
